PRINCESS ANNE, MD-(Nov. 15, 2012) - If music speaks to your soul, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has a pre-holiday treat in store for Delmarva.

Jazz aficionados won’t want to miss a Dec. 3 concert when two of the university’s acclaimed groups, the Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Combo, perform a bevy of selections from the 100-year-old U.S. art form.

The “Big Band”—the ensemble, under the direction of Dr. John R. Lamkin, opens the concert.It will perform “an array of jazz favorites” including “Caravan” by Duke Ellington and “Doodlin” by Horace Silver, Lamkin said.Vocalist Chelsea Corpening, a senior graduating in December, will sing “a beautiful rendition of Gershwin’s ‘Embraceable You’ and an up tempo version of the old jazz gem, ‘Mack the Knife’ by Kurt Weill.”

The Jazz Combo performs under the direction of Brian Perez, lecturer of woodwinds at UMES.

“We’ll be playing selections from the Hard Bop era through modern day,” Perez said.Musical compositions performed will range from “The Kicker” by the late jazz tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, to pieces written by UMES faculty and students.The Combo will play senior music education major Lloyd Griffith’s “Bop-De-Bop” and Perez’s piece, “Refrane.”

The concert is free and takes place at 7 p.m. in the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.Call 410-651-6571 for more information.